In order to maximise your customer service team’s time, knowledge and energy, it is entirely possible that you have set up a tranche of scripted documents or templates that your team can provide to new enquiries.
Whether that’s a sales email with a list of benefits or a post-sales communication telling them how to access the benefits, it is a great way to make sure all the necessary steps are taken, that the tone of voice is on brand and that your team isn’t wasting hours retyping something that they have already sent before. But it can also encourage customer-service laziness that is letting your business down.
Let me give you an example. We recently completed the sign-up process for a membership organisation, on behalf of one of our clients. The organisation offers many benefits, including access to a finance platform to set-up direct debit agreements so our client can sell on credit. The sign-up process was smooth, and the messaging was clear, until that is, we started to ask more specific questions. What followed was reams of scripted, pre-written content which caused no end of confusion, simply because it mentioned upgrading memberships, and what was available to what membership tier, when none of that applied to what our client needed. They were already a top-tier member and they already had access to all the benefits, so why when they were trying to access them, were they being asked to upgrade again? Most confusing!
It sounds really basic and it doesn’t sound like that big of a deal, but each time you are in touch with your client, it contributes to their perception of you. Word of mouth is one of the most powerful tools for gaining more clients, so surely, it’s better to create a seamless, effortless experience rather than a jumbled up, confusing one? They’ll be more likely to recommend you.
The main take away that you can gain from this short but sweet blog is to consider how you are training and targeting your customer service team and whether it results in the image that you want for your organisation? Yes, you may need scripts and checklists to ensure every client gets the same experience, and yes, you may need them to respond to a certain number of enquiries, but you also need to encourage them to use their initiative and take their time to deliver a faultless experience. It would have taken moments for them to adapt the script and remove the messages about upgrades, but because it was pre-written and easy to copy and paste, no changes were made. As a result, more time was wasted asking questions back and forth and the ultimately impression was a bit jumbled. Come on; let’s not be customer service lazy!